Choral Society of NEPA to host concert

The Children and Youth Programs of the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania will present their annual Spring Concert, which will be their final concert of the year. The Choral Society’s graduating high school seniors will be recognized at the concert and celebrated at a reception afterwards. The Children and Youth Ensembles are directed by Susan Kelly, Leslie Moran, and Alissa Swarts and accompanied by Ron Stabinsky. The Artistic Director of the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania is Dr. Alan Baker.

The concerts will be offered on Sunday, May 5 at 3 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton. Admission is $10 for adults, free for 18 years and younger, and a $2 discount for seniors, students, Lackawanna Library System Card holders, members of WVIA, and members of the Raymond Hood Room at the Scranton Cultural Center. For additional information, including directions, visit the Choral Society website at www.choralsociety.net.

The Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania sponsors four unique choral ensembles, serving age 5 through high school. Mirroring the diversity of their individual names, Cantus Novus, Kantorei, Chanteuse, and Cantare, (all drawn from various Romance language words for “singers,” “singing,” or “song,”) all the ensembles explore a wide range of musical styles, periods, and languages. Collectively, they prepare and present four public programs each year: Fall and Mid-Winter programs, a December program of holiday selections, and a concluding Spring concert.

Additionally, the Kantorei, Chanteuse, and Cantare ensembles regularly join the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic each December for their annual “Home for the Holidays” programs, with CANTARE featured, as well, in the Society’s annual “Ceremony of English Carols.” Many of the ensembles also participate in spring choral competitions such as the “Music in the Parks” festivals, and perform by invitation for special community events.

In 2001, Kantorei presented the regional premiere of the famed Holocaust children’s opera, “Brundibar,” in fully staged performances that featured the last living member of the original Terezin cast, Ela Weissberger. As the Children’s and Youth Program’s premier touring ensemble, the Cantare choir is regularly called upon for performances across both the community and region, including the Commonwealth’s annual Blue Mass, celebrated each Spring on the Capitol steps in memory of law enforcement officers lost in the line of duty.

The ensemble’s 2001 CD recording, “America the Beautiful,” helped pave the way for their first international tour to South Wales and England during the summer of 2002. In 2005, Cantare presented the world premiere of Daniel Kallman’s Three Poems of Sara Teasdale, commissioned by the Choral Society in memory of Julia Rose Kvashay.

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